Not really a Tag Heuer; not really a Limited edition....

Tag Heuer Link Calibre 36 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi Limited Edition? Are you sure?

Supposed to name this post as "What can you buy with RM50 (approximately USD15)?" RM50 that was precisely what I paid for this piece of limited edition. When something sounded too good to be true... then it is usually fake......

I bought the watch from here in April, 2004; the famous Chinatown, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur.

The Petaling Street is the shoppers' paradise if you want to bargain your way to some cheap things. There is almost everything here from clothes, souvenirs to electronic items to fabrics. Other than cheap stuff, Petaling Street is renowned for selling imitation goods like handbags, wallets, belts, sunglasses, lighters, watches and shoes from brands like Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Versace, Nike and so on.

Here is a classic vendor of Petaling Street. Most of them are super salesperson. If you want to make a purchase here, be sure that you have mastered the art of price negotiation, and have a strong psychology. 

You can find famous names like Rolex, Omega, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Chopard, Montblanc, IWC, Audemars Piguet and many more here in this and other stalls. 

I bought this particular watch because it is a Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's limited edition. I didn't know who is Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi..... I thought he is

OR

OR

Hahahaaaaaaaaa I am dead wrong. This is Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (川口 能活).... former Goalkeeper and captain for Japan Soccer team.  

Put it this way, it was only RM50 for a fully functional chronograph and some more a limited time piece LOL..... who can resist that? So, I bought this time piece; wore it one or two times and totally forgot about it.

Amazingly after a good ten years, it is still ticking inside the closet. It took me by surprise.... Hence, I decided to open the screw back case up to see what Chinese movement it has. I can't believe it, this cheap imitate timepiece actually used a genuine Miyota Cal.0S20 movement. 

Miyota Cal.0S20 3 eyes chronograph with date analogue Quartz movement. It is categorised as tuning fork type quartz crystal with a frequency of 32,768Hz and an accuracy of  +/-20 seconds per month worn under normal circumstances. This is the very same movement Citizen used in some of their Quartz Chronograph. A lot of fancy dress watch and also renown brands also use this movement in their chronograph watches. The price is of course far far higher than my RM50. 

I decided to replace its battery with a fresh one. With twisted mind, I also replacing its original mineral crystal with scratchproof sapphire glass. I don't consider this is a replica Tag Heuer. It is not based on any specific Tag Heuer existing model. This is just a very cruel imitation. Any person with sufficient interest in watches can tell it is a fake. 

All parts of this watch is made of stainless steel. The case and the stainless steel bracelet possessed the design of Tag Heuer's Link series. This watch has a black dial with an internal tachymeter ring. The Tag Heuer logo is a dead give away. This watch is equipped with sword type hands.

The chronograph push buttons on this watch is rectangle shaped. The Heuer signed crown sits nicely within crown guards.

The Link bracelet is locked with butterfly double folding non-visible clasp. 

The back case is something that quite spectacular. The back case is signed with a Tag Heuer logo and with model number stated as CN111B.BA0337. It also bragged being Swiss Made and is limited to 2000 piece. Every single one of this imitation is serial numbered to 1996/2000.

Now there is also a signature of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and dated June 2002. Too bad I have not seen a real Yoshikatsu's signature......

The real Caliber 36 of Tag Heuer..... (taken from www.onthedash.com)

Finishing this post with a photo of lovely Japanese team female supporters.....

Oris Big Crown Complications 2004

Oris ~ Purely mechanical Swiss watches...... 
Big Crown Complications with Moonphase (Ref:ref 01 581 7566 4061-07 8 19 61)

Was flicking through the offer or promotion catalogue of one of my Visa card.... When this gorgeous watch caught my eyes. Under normal circumstances, I don't think I would have bought it.... But this was an offer with a 12 or 24 months interest free installment. Without much hesitation, I logged on to the Bank website and put in the order for this marvelous timepiece.

In less than a week, Oris Big Crown Complications arrived safely at my door step. The watch is slightly smaller than I anticipated. It is measuring 38mm in diameter excluding its over-sized solid crown. 

The round stainless steel case is well polished with satin finishing lugs. The case is further enchanted with applied fluted stainless steel bezel that resembled a coin edge. Its dome shaped plexi-glass is a touch of classic and art.  

What intrigues me the most is its exquisitely structured dial..... The silver guilloche dial has rose gold arrowhead markers alternating with Arabic numerals. There are three subsidiary dials for the day function (at 3 o'clock position), the 24 hours or second time zone (6 o'clock position), and the date function (at 9 o'clock position). In the 12 o'clock position, above the Oris name, is the 29.5 days moonphase indicator.  

The watch's artistic hour and minute hand are painted with superluminova C3 to enable easy reading of time in dark. The distinctive big crown is signed ORIS and there are 3 recessed pushers on the sides of the case are used to adjust these complications. One setback is that the crown is not screw down; you just need to pull to adjust the time and the moonphase.

The pusher at 2 o'clock is for the day of the week adjustment, while the pusher at 4 o'clock is for the 2nd time zone setting. There is another pusher at the other side of the case, located at 10 o'clock position. This pusher is to set the date function. Worth mentioning, this watch has the classical stainless steel “beads of rice” bracelet with signed flip-lock clasp.

At the back, is a well polished screw down back case with a see through mineral glass display. You can appreciate the ever attractive red heart beats of Oris Cal 581. Cal 581 is a 17 jewels automatic movement based on ETA 2688/2671. 

The famous Oris red rotor is bi-directionally rotating that generate a vibration of 28,800 A/h at 4 Hz. Cal 581 has a power reserve of 38 hours.  

This watch is stated to water resist to 5 bar. 

To sum up, Oris Big Crown 7566 moonphase is an affordable pilot’s watch that can make the watch enthusiast’s heart beat faster.

Link To: My another Oris: Oris Crystal Cal 705

Link To: My another Moonphase: Longines Master Collection Chronograph Moonphase

Citizen Diver NY2300; a daily wear!

Citizen Diver Viva Forever....

"Hasta Manana,

Always be mine

[Chorus:]

Viva forever, I'll be waiting

Everlasting, like the sun

Live forever,

For the moment

Ever searching for the one " 

                                               Spice Girls

All of the sudden, in the right mood... took this Citizen NY2300 off my wrist and start taking mugshots of it. This is one of my daily wear; a workhorse that accompany me seeing my high and low.... Bought this in early 2000's while trying to build up my own business.....

It suits my daily purpose as a casual wear as it is not over bulky or luxury or delicate or complicated.... All I need is a reliable watch that tell me the accurate time with ease. Nothing fancy, nothing extravagance but a good piece of old technology......

I first wrote about Citizen NY2300 HERE..... The only different between this one and that, is the colour of the bezel and the dial. In this case, both are in tuxedo black. 

NY2300 is a 40mm solid stainless steel watch. A budget entry level automatic watch full of features. It has a bilateral rotating bezel with mineral crystal. 

The crown is screw locked with the protect crown guard. It has a scuba ability to impressive 200 meters. This watch is factory fitted with rubber diver band. 

The back case is a screw in solid stainless steel... I love the fact that it is flat and without any decoration. For a casual wear, it is all about comfortable and practicality.  

NY2300 is powered by Citizen Miyolta cal 8200. It is the same movement that powered the Citizen Autozilla, but this one is in the raw form. Apart from time, maybe the essential function of a watch is the day-date.... this watch gives you all; so what-else are you demanding? 

Revised December 2015

Decided to replace the rubber strap with a silicone one. More comfortable to wear and with a double push released clasp.